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The Lombard Police Department wants to promote safety for both motorists and pedestrians around railroad tracks, in part with Illinois Rail Safety Week, Sept. 24 – 30, 2017.

In Illinois during 2016, there were 120 crossing collisions involving motor vehicles, which resulted in 43 injuries and 22 fatalities. In addition, there were 39 trespasser incidents that resulted in 17 injuries and 22 fatalities when people trespassed onto railroad property. During 2016, Illinois ranked 3rd in the nation in vehicle collision fatalities and 6th in the nation in trespasser fatalities.

Residents are reminded to make safety a priority where railroad tracks and trains exist, and to please pass this information on to children.

Trains cannot stop quickly. Even if a locomotive engineer sees you, IT WILL TAKE THE AVERAGE TRAIN MORE THAN ONE MILE TO STOP. That is about 20 football fields.

The average train weighs 200 tons, and the average automobile weighs less than two tons.

A motorist is 40 times more likely to die in a crash involving a train than in a crash involving another motor vehicle.

The majority of highway/railroad collisions occur when the train is traveling less than 30 miles per hour.

Pay careful attention at crossings at night and in bad weather.

Because of its size, trains look like they are moving slower than they actually are. It is nearly impossible to predict the speed of an approaching train.

If you are using headphones, please remove them when crossing or walking near railroad tracks.

Once the warning signals begin, it can take as little as 20 seconds for the train to reach the crossing.

Get off your bike and walk it across the tracks.

It against the law to stop your vehicle on railroad tracks, it is also against the law to stop your vehicle anywhere within the highway-rail grade crossing.

If you would like more information about Illinois Rail Safety Week, please visit www.illinoisrailsafetyweek.org or contact the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.